No clear solution to excessive college drinking

Two months after President Larry Bacow sent his e-mail condemning students for their behavior during the annual Naked Quad Run, many students are still stewing and have complained that the president does not understand the issue.

But in an interview last week, Bacow said he is not in a popularity contest and that despite the reaction to his e-mail, he believes universities have a responsibility to "manage" drinking in college, to help students understand the risks, and keep the situation under control.

Bacow, who personally believes the drinking age should be lowered to 18, said that the issue cannot be ignored because the university risks letting the situation worsen. "Should we wait until a student dies before we do something?" Bacow said.

Many students have said that Bacow's vocal denunciation of the Naked Quad Run was a result largely of the president's previous experience at MIT. When Bacow was an administrator there, freshman Scott Kruger died from alcohol poisoning while pledging a fraternity.

Bacow admitted that the incident influenced his priorities. "Seeing what it did to all his frat brothers" was one of the hardest things to witness, Bacow said, and he wanted to avoid seeing other students in a similar situation.

But the president said that while he "lived through a nightmare at MIT," Kruger has affected every university.

Excessive drinking among students boils down to a matter of personal responsibility, Bacow said. "It has to do with students accepting the consequences of their behavior," he said, something that he feels many students lose while at college. But the president was at a loss on how the administration could instill this in students.

Many students, however, feel that the administration is ignorant of the realities of the college alcohol culture and that the president is trying to control alcohol consumption, which they feel is not the right answer to the drinking problem.

"What Bacow misses is that if he were to officially crack down on drinking it would only drive it further underground, causing more injuries," sophomore Benjamin Rubinstein said. "It would help him to evaluate how to encourage people to be responsible rather than outright ban it."

But Bacow said he is "not na??ve about what goes on" and that the university has no pretenses when it comes to drinking. "I'm under no illusions that we will ever solve the problem," he said.

Some have suggested that the University offer more activities or be more interactive with fraternities so that students would be less inclined to turn to alcohol. The president agreed that more activities to discourage drinking would improve the situation. "We need to provide more opportunities for [students] without getting loaded," Bacow said. But how the University should go about doing that is a much harder question to answer, he said.

Since the infamous e-mail sent the day after the run in December, the president has faced significant criticism from alumni and students for his reaction.

According to Bacow, the run was an example of students losing control. "This was different," he said. "Things have gotten out of hand, and over the top."

Friction from students and alumni are not his biggest concerns, as he says that many students who talk about tradition often are not aware of what has actually happened in the past. Bacow added that he has received letters from alumni congratulating him for the action he has taken so far.

And "if students can't figure how to control it," he has no qualms taking administrative action to control the run. "We have to try to not ignore [excessive drinking] in the name of tradition," Bacow said.

The Naked Quad Run has not been the only subject of administrative concern about drinking: the administration has also increased scrutiny of fraternities this year. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said last semester that the fraternities on campus were facing a "last chance" to reform.

Although alcohol problems are not confined to fraternities, Bacow said, the Greek system needs to gain a sense of self-respect. "How does it look," he asked, "[when] every Saturday morning the corners of Talbot and Packard are littered with bottles?"